Rory Dixon, Marian (Photo courtesy of First Class School Photography)

MAHANOY CITY — Are the Colts back in the saddle?

Five weeks into the 2025 season, Marian is perfect after clawing past winless arch-rival Mahanoy Area 35-13 on Friday evening in a Schuylkill-Colonial Blue Division game on Bill Fazio Field at Alumni Stadium.

It’s the first time since 2006 that Marian has opened a football season 5-0.

Don’t be fooled by the score. Mahanoy Area inflicted multiple turnovers on itself, at times becoming its own worst enemy. The Golden Bears fumbled six times and lost four. They also threw two interceptions, including one that Dante Tate returned 32 yards for a touchdown. Tate also had another interception.

Marian rolled to a 28-0 halftime lead and kicked in the running clock after going up 35-0 to start the second half, but this was far from a flawless performance.

The Colts scored three touchdowns in an eight-play stretch. They took a 7-0 lead with 6:03 left in the first quarter when Rory Dixon busted loose for an 8-yard run. On their next possession, following a Mahanoy fumble at its own 22, Marian needed only three plays to strike again. Tate’s interception return and Jake Tom’s extra point made it 21-0.

Then, with 3:46 left in the half, Gregory Tirpak unleashed a 65-yard touchdown bomb to Tom. The sophomore quarterback was nearly flawless in the first half, completing 5-of-6 passes for 163 yards. He finished 6-for-9 on the night. Tom had two catches for 80 yards, Dixon two for 69, and Rocco Griguoli two for 17.

Just before halftime, however, Mahanoy’s defense came alive. The Bears sacked Tirpak twice for big losses and nearly stopped a deep strike as Tirpak connected with Dixon on a 45-yard pass to the 5 before the half expired.

“We’ve got to clean up something’s, that’s for sure,” Marian second-year coach Bill O’Gurek said. “We’ve just got to get more consistent (with our run) blocking.”

Better blocking, he noted, will open the field for Dixon.

“We’ve got good weapons in our passing game, but if we want to be the team that we think we can be, we got to unlock (Dixon),” O’Gurek said. “You know, when we get him in the open field, he is so elusive. The last couple of weeks we haven’t been able to do that.”

And that’s because defenses are keying on him.

Marian’s lone second-half score came when Tom caught Mahanoy napping on a fake punt, racing 53 yards down the sideline with 9:33 left in the third quarter. The Colts didn’t score again over the next 22-plus minutes.

“We obviously made too many mistakes with the fumbles and mental breakdowns,” first-year Mahanoy coach Mick Connolly said. “It also killed us with dumb penalties.”

Mahanoy senior Kyler Quick broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run with 9:33 left in the game. Teammate Damian Contreras added a 14-yard scoring run.

Second-Half Struggles

Marian stumbled after halftime. Dixon managed only six rushing yards, and aside from Tom’s fake punt, the offense sputtered. The Colts fumbled on their second possession, ran three plays in the third quarter and punted on their first drive of the fourth. By then, O’Gurek had called off the dogs.

Defensive Standouts

Quick played standout two-way football for the Bears. Dominic and Damian Rodino also shined, while lineman Jah Bushati made his presence felt all night for Marian.

Also for Marian, Tate’s two interceptions highlighted the defensive effort. Tyler Price and Jason Ashfield were sidelined.

What’s Next

The real test begins now for Marian. The Colts host Minersville in their homecoming game next Saturday, then visit Schuylkill Haven before returning home to face Williams Valley.

Game Summary

Marian 35, Mahanoy Area 13

Mar (5-0, 4-0)         7          21          7          0  —    35

Mah (0-5, 0-4)          0          0          0          13  —    13

MC — Dixon 8 run (Tom kick)

MC — Dixon 10 run (Tom kick)

MC — Tate 32 interception return (Tom kick)

MC — Tom 65 pass from Tirpak (Tom kick)

MC — Tom 53 run (Tom kick)

MA — Quick 52 run (pass failed)

MA — Contreras 14 run (Redgate kick)